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A Universal Tool To Visualize Your Step Count

Wearable devices, steps, and data are exploding thanks to advances in technology, both hardware and software. FitBit is to thank for creating an amazing buzz around the simple KPI of the “step”. Each step is what it is, picking one foot up, moving forward and putting it back down. The step represents the ultra-simplification of the fitness. Just in time too. America’s obesity problem is exploding too.

The Problem We Solved

Since FitBit came on the market, dozens of other fitness trackers have rushed to get their fair share of the wearable fitness market. This means that you have to choose a flavor, a style, and stick with that platform while you achieve your goals. The proprietary data visualizations do two things: 1) they hijack your data, making it difficult to get it back, which dissuades you from jumping to another platform, and 2) if you do change to another platform, you are forced to start from zero. Not a good customer experience and few platforms seem to care about long-term archiving of your personal step data.

After trying different wearable devices and jumping from FitBit to Jawbone to Omron, back to FitBit, and currently, a wondeful Jawbone UP Move, I hate the fact that my data is spread across the cloud. This limits my ability to find long-term insights in my data which drive the necessary behavior change to improve my fitness. I also wanted to create an archive of my step data which I could refer back to regardless of the device I was using at the time. So, I decided to solve the issue and created a simplistic step data visualization tool with Microsoft Excel.

As Simple as It Gets

Simplistic it is, yet it is a powerful tool full of insights. Insights such as:

The color coded calendar-like table is shaded by the hi and low step count for the month.

It also shows your total monthly step count vs goal. For comparison, you can view last month’s performance.

Average Steps by Day of Week: Which is your best day? Which day of the week is your worst?

Scroll through the year by month to see how seasonality changes your step data.

Entering data into the Steps Tracker Tool is simple too. We didn’t add any API calls or database connections. Nope, we simply added a table with space for the date, step count, and goal. Additional formulas exist on the table to make the whole thing work. To add data, either type the data in or simply copy and paste the data from your wearable device’s propriety platform. While you might moan and groan at the prospect of using your keyboard to enter data rather than an automated API call, we know that typing in your data personally actually helps you relate better to your data and helps with the behavioral change to get fit. Simple.

How Much Does It Cost

Right now, it costs $0.00. Yep, the grand low price of FREE. For the next seven days, you can download it free from this blog post. After Oct 7, 2015 at midnight, this tool will only be offered through my fitness analytics company, TrainingMetrix, with registration. Click here to download:TMX-Steps-Data-Tool-2015-0930

Limited support is being offered by TrainingMetrix. If you have any challenges, please contact support at trainingmetrix.com

Achieve Your Dreams One Step at a Time

A big part of achieving your dreams is self care. Taking care of yourself through regular exercise, good nutrition, and spirituality is a great formula for life long happiness and making your dreams reality. The TMX Steps Tool is a small part of that formula, but you have to take to the first step (pun intended!).